Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Hamburger Helper Shortcuts
I grew up on Hamburger Helper, and many times the hamburger (hamburger meat for all my friends in the deep south of the US) was substituted with ground venison. My early years in the Navy, my wife and I made Hamburger Helper to stretch those dollars between paydays. This boxed kind basically hamburger, pasta (maybe potatoes), spices, milk, water, load of salt and sugar, and a load of preservatives. So I did a bit of research on the internet and found a site that replicated all of the dishes available. The basic instruction is brown the ground beef and drain, then add in the ingredients for each version you wish then simmer. Enjoy. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
Chili Mac
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 2 1/4 cups hot water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni
- 1 cup canned tomatoes, diced or stewed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon oinion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded, or Monterey Jack
Lasagna
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 2 1/4 cups hot water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups egg noodles, or broken lasagna noodles
- 1 cup canned tomatoes, diced or stewed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- Parmesan cheese, as desired
Cheesy Beef Taco
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 2 1/4 cups hot water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 1 cup canned tomatoes, diced or stewed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Fritos chips
Beef Stroganoff (Featured Image)
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk, or 1/2 cup sour cream + 1 1/2 cups milk, Shortcut
- 1 1/2 cups small egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
Potato Stroganoff
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk, or 1/2 cup sour cream + 1 1/2 cups milk, Shortcut
- 1 1/2 cups potatoes, thinly sliced or diced
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salisbury
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups small egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- dash Worcherstershire sauce
Cheesy Italian Shells
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups small shell pasta
- 1 cup canned tomatoes, diced or stewed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
Cheesy Jambalaya
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 1 cup canned tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or less to taste
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
Chili Mac
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat. (Instead of onion powder and garlic powder, I added a diced onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic when I browned the beef.)
- Add the remaining items except the cheese.
- Stir together. Let it come to a near boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the macaroni is tender.
- Stir in the cheese and let it melt in.
- Serve and enjoy.
Lasagna
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items except the two cheeses. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the egg noodles or lasagna noodles are tender.
- Stir in the Mozzarella cheese and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on the top. Cover for 5 minutes to let the Mozzarella melt in, serve and enjoy.
Cheesy Beef Taco
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items except the cheese and Fritos. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the rice is tender.
- Stir in 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese, sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top then the Fritos, Cover and let sit for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy.
Beef Stroganoff (Featured Image)
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items and mix together. (Mushrooms I used were Straw mushrooms, quartered.)
- Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the egg noodles are tender.
- Serve and enjoy.
Potato Stroganoff
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items.
- Stir together and let it come to a near boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Serve and enjoy.
Salisbury
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the egg noodles are tender. Serve and enjoy.
Cheesy Italian Shells
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items except the cheese. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the pasta shells are tender.
- Stir in the Cheddar cheese and cook for another 5 minutes or so to let the cheese melt in, serve and enjoy.
Cheesy Jambalaya
- In a large non stick pan, brown the ground beef and drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining items except the cheese. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally until the rice is tender.
- Stir in the Cheddar cheese and cover for another 5 minutes or so to let the cheese melt in, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Italian Seasoning, Sour Cream.
Notes: 1. If using true Thai chili powder, cut the amount back by 1/3 to 1/2 as it is quite hotter than chili powder in the US. 2. The salt and sugar are OPTIONAL! I have made several of these and you can certainly leave out the sugar. Salt is used in the boxed version of this much the way McDonald's uses salt, sugar is used in the box version much the way cereals in the US are made, to get you to not like the meal, but love the meal, and buy more. When I make these, I do not add sugar, but I do add salt, a touch less than what is stated.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sage Chicken Livers
I made this on 23 May 2018, and was pleasantly surprised, wonderful flavor, so much so, my wife really liked this, as did the rest of the family. Just common chicken livers with some sage which is not a spice used by Thais, but was well liked. Not a pretty dish but tasty.
Ingredients
- 750 grams chicken livers, cut in half, trimmed, (1½ lb)
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 1 medium oinion, sliced, separated into rings
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- â…“ cup dry white wine, or chicken stock
Instructions
- Livers prepped with a quick rinse and each cut in half.
- Heat the oil in a large non stick pan, then add the livers.
- Just cook and turn occasionally with a spatula until mostly cooked, they continue cooking with the next steps, no one likes over cooked livers 🙂
- Add the sliced onion, stir and cook until softened.
- Stir in the sage, salt, and pepper, then stir in the wine or stock and simmer for 5-6 minutes to reduce most of the liquid.
- Serve as is with a side, or over pasta or mashed potatoes.
Notes
Low cost.
Chicken Giblets
A alternative to just plain fried giblets. For this recipe, a mix of hearts and gizzards is fine along with liver if you like, but if using livers, add those later during the cooking as they take less time to cook.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo chicken hearts, or hearts, gizzards, liver or combination, (2 lb)
- olive oil, as needed
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- ½ cup white wine, or chicken stock
Instructions
- In a large non stick pan, heat a splash of olive oil then add the hearts and or gizzards and fry until just browned. If using liver in addition to hearts and or gizzards, add them just when the other items are browning up, this is because the liver cooks faster, and you do not want to over cook the liver.
- When everything is browned, stir in the cumin, clove, paprika, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the onion and garlic, stir that in and fry for 5 minutes.
- Reduce to heat to low and stir in the wine or stock and simmer on low until the giblets are cooked through.
- Serve with rice, pasta, or potatoes.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: 1. In place of the white wine or chicken stock, use an equal amount of heavy cream.
Chicken Liver Stroganoff
I added this recipe on 23 Mar 2018 and made it the same evening. It goes together quickly and is delicious, very well liked by the family.
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken liver, (1 lb)
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, divided or as needed
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1½ cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1½ tablespoons oyster sauce, or fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili sauce, optional
- 1 pinch dried thyme
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Prep the livers by rinsing them, cut in half, remove any tough membranes, dry them on paper towels. Sprinkle the liver with 1 tablespoon of flour and gently mix them to coat, use more flour as needed.
- Heat a large non stick pan with the butter and saute the onion until soft, then add the livers. Saute the livers for about 3 minutes and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
- Add the sliced mushrooms, oyster or fish sauce, chili sauce, thyme, and black pepper to taste. Saute for about 5 minutes.
- Mix together the cream and 1 tablespoon of flour, stir into the liver mixture and bring to just before boiling.
- Remove from heat, serve and top with some chopped parsley. Here I served it with fresh made spatzle.
Notes
Low cost.
Variants: 1. If using Straw mushrooms (highly recommended), slice into quarters lengthwise. 2. Use just chicken hearts, halved, or a combination of hearts and livers.
Stew Beef (Pressure Cooker)
This applies to stew beef, not a large piece of beef like a pot roast. A few days ago I was going to make some ground beef patties with a gravy sauce, and my new and to my discovery, less than desirable meat grinder failed at simply grinding beef. Since I had the meat cut to stew size to feed into the grinder. Backup plan, use my stove top pressure cooker. I looked up the time for stew beef, 20 minutes, easy, and quite delicious beef that is tender and juicy. Win win. Follow your pressure cooker's safety instructions.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1½ kilos beef, see Step 1, (3 lbs)
- water, as needed
Instructions
- The amount of beef (stew beef, beef that is cut into pieces) is not really important, I used 1½ kilos but I also have a 9 liter (9½ quart) pressure cooker. Main thing is the pressure cooker (for smaller pressure cookers) is no more than ⅔ full.
- Add the beef to the cooker. Add about 1 to 1½ inches of water, again, do not go over ⅔ full. You need water in the cooker, you are not going to boil the meat, as when it is under pressure, the water does not boil, it is certainly ok if there is meat above the water!
- Place the lid on and lock, bring to high heat. When the jiggler starts moving and releasing pressure, turn the heat down but maintain the pressure release and jiggler moving (indicating full pressure). Start timing for 20 minutes.
- When 20 minutes have passed on full pressure, turn of the heat and move the pressure cooker to an unused burner to allow a natural release of pressure.
- When the pressure is released and it is safe to open your pressure cooker, go ahead and open, use beef as needed in other recipes. Don't forget to try a piece first 😉
- I simply added the stew beef to a sauce pan of beef gravy and served it with homemade spatzle, excellent dish.
- Recipes to use stew beef in could be simply beef and gravy, beef and noodles, etc.
Notes
For pricing, this depends on how much beef you are using and where you sourced it from. I will just use a blanket Fair cost for this.
Variant: 1. Increase the time to 21 or 22 minutes for an even more fall apart tender beef.
Fridge Bread & Butter Pickles
I love bread and butter pickles and when I was growing up, my Mom and Grandmother made them a lot during the summer months. I just found this recipe and I will be trying it soon! This is NOT a canning recipe and is NOT recommended to can this, this is a make and place in the fridge recipe. I made these on 22 May 2018, delicious!
Ingredients
- 750 grams small cucumbers, sliced 1/4 inch thick, (1 1/2 lbs)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 small onions, thinly sliced, white onion preferred
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seed
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
- In a large shallow bowl, add the cucumber slices and onion slices.
- Add the salt, toss together. Cover and place in the fridge for 1-1 1/2 hours.
- When the cucumbers are ready, add to a colander and rinse well. Drain the cucumbers well, there you just removed excess moisture from the cucumber slices to provide a good crisp cucumber slice.
- Add the drained cucumbers to a heat proof bowl this time, or to a quart jar.
- In a medium sauce pan, add the vinegars, sugars, mustard and celery seeds, and finally the turmeric. Stir together then and bring mixture to a simmer on medium heat. Stir until the sugars are dissolved.
- Pour the hot mixture over the cucumber and onion mixture, let set at room temp until cooled, cover and place in the fridge for 24 hours.
- The bread and butter pickles are ready now to be enjoyed. Can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 month as long as they are covered airtight.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Crab & Shrimp Soup
I made this on 26 Feb 2018 on a whim. I used fresh chicken stock I made in my pressure cooker (perfect), added some veggies, imitation crab and some shrimp, easy and delicious!
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken stock, OR make from a shortcut
- 6-8 cups water
- 3 medium potatoes, diced large
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 stalks imported celery, diced, plus tops chopped and reserved
- 500 grams imitation crab, chopped, (1 lb)
- 500 grams shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, (1 lb)
- pepper, to taste
- olive oil, as needed
- 1/2 cup dry spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
Instructions
- Add the stock and water to a large pot and add the potatoes and bay leaf, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes or so until the potatoes are nearly fork tender.
- While the potatoes are cooking, heat a non stick pan with a splash of olive oil and when hot, add the onion and diced celery. Stir often, you are not trying to brown this, just softening up onion and celery.
- When the onion and celery is softened, add that to the pot with the potatoes.
- When the potatoes are just about fork tender, add the chopped up crab sticks to the pot and just let the soup simmer on low heat. Add the broken spaghetti. Season with pepper to taste.
- While the soup is simmering and the spaghetti cooking, clean the shrimp. When the spaghetti is cooked, add the shrimp and the chopped celery tops.
- Turn off the heat and cover and the hot soup will cook the shrimp in a few minutes.
- When the shrimp are pink, remove the bay leaf, ladle into bowls and enjoy.
Notes
I will price this next time I get the imitation crab, for now, with 6 to 8 servings, this is low cost.
Shortcut: Chicken Stock (Pressure Cooker).
Variants: 1. Add bite size pieces of whitefish. 2. Add diced carrots, daikon, or mushrooms.
Just a soup I threw together, worked out great, Lee Thayer.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Authentic Slow Cooker Louisiana Red Beans & Rice with Sausage
I have been looking for a good red beans and rice recipe, I made this on 2 Mar 2018 and it is delicious! I am very impressed with this dish. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry red beans, soaked overnight, (1/2 lb)
- 4-6 cups water
- 4 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 500 grams smoked sausage, sliced 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slices, (1 lb)
- 2 cups ham, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 fresh Jalapeno pepper, chopped, optional
- 8 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning, OR make from a shortcut, divided
- black pepper, to taste
- cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a non stick pan, when melted and hot, add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery, and jalapeno pepper (if using) and cook and stir for a few minutes, you are not trying to brown them, just heating them all through, remove from heat and pour it all, butter and all, into your slow cooker, there, you just made a mirepoix 🙂
- Drain and rinse the beans, add to the slow cooker, then add diced ham, sliced sausage, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon of Creole seasoning.
- Here I added the mirepoix after I added beans, ham, and sausage. The order in which you add it does not matter at all.
- Add the stock and 4 cups of water, add more water as needed to make sure everything is covered by the liquid, also take into account the beans will expand some during cooking so do not overfill the slow cooker. Stir to mix everything together.
- Cover and set to Low setting and cook for 8 to 10 hours for the consistency of beans you prefer.
- Remove the bay leaves, stir in the remaining Creole seasoning, serve over cooked rice.
Notes
I will say Low cost for now based on 8 servings and using homemade sausage (which I will be doing). I did buy some ham to dice up just for this but forgot the price. I will price this when I get accurate numbers.
Shortcut: Creole Seasoning Mix.
Variants: 1. Use a ham hock in place of the diced ham. 2. Sausage can be Andouille, smoked sausage, kielbasa, or any sausage you prefer. 3. For creamier beans, tilt the lid on the slow cooker for the last 1-2 hours. 3. Use Cajun seasoning instead of Creole, they are nearly the same.
Provided by Slow Cooker Kitchen and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Coleslaw
This is from a good American friend, Brian, who lives in northeastern Thailand. I made this on 21 Oct 2018, and it was very well liked by the family. Excellent flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 heads green cabbage, or purple cabbage
- 1 medium onion
- 1 large carrot
- 2 cups mayo
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Coleslaw 101 basic ingredients, cabbage, onion, and carrot.
- The way I prepare cabbage is to quarter it then cut the core out of each piece at an angle, then slice each piece, the slice again crosswise.
- Add the cabbage, onion, and carrot to a large mixing bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the the mayo, sugar, vinegar, and oil.
- Whisk and you will get a nice creamy dressing.
- Pour about half of the dressing into the veggies and mix, then add the remaining dressing and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least two hours before serving, or even overnight, as this will allow the flavors to blend.
- Serve as a side dish with any meal.
Notes
Low cost.
Recipe provide by good friend, Brian Colligan, Pleasures & Pastimes (which is a great resource for gardening seeds and other items).
Thailand.
Thailand.
Forget the Rice Cooker Rice
Or use a rice cooker, which is what I did and this is great rice! This is from a good American friend, Brian, who lives in northeastern Thailand, and he makes this often. This has a twist to it, flavored with star anise and cardamom.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry white rice, rinsed
- 2½ cups cold water
- 2 whole star anise
- 3-4 cardamom pods, or â…› teaspoon ground, see Step 1
Instructions
- For the cardamom pods, you can use fresh, dried, or even ground. Fresh would be preferred, If using dry, soak the pods for at least an hour before use. For ground cardamom, use â…› teaspoon. You can also use â…› teaspoon of cinnamon in place of cardamom.
Stovetop Method
- Place everything in a pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the star anise and cardamom pods, fluff with a fork and serve as a side with any Asian dishes.
Rice Cooker Method
- Add everything to your slow cooker, stir together. Cover and set to Cook setting.
- When rice cooker switches to Warm, unplug, remove the star anise and cardamom pods, fluff, serve as a side dish. Enjoy.
